For the next two weeks, three times a weekend, Princeton Junction resident Ashley Stuart gets to attend the dinner party from Hell.
Stuart will play the role of Honey in Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” opening this Friday at the Kelsey Theater. The production of the classic American dark comedy, directed by Lou J. Stalsworth, focuses on the startling and disquieting duel between two aging lovers in a university community and the young biology professor and his wife trapped, seemingly for sport, in their war of words.
“I love discovering the depths of Honey,” says Stuart. Honey, the young wife of a new professor at a small New England university, is repeatedly cast aside as “mousy” by the other characters, until the spiraling events of the play tear loose her own insecurities and secrets. “Lou is wonderfully supportive and mindful,” she says. “He doesn’t let us get too comfortable, and it keeps the play alive.”
Stuart became involved in the production after seeing an audition notice in U.S. 1 newspaper, and earned the part via the audition process. A 2008 graduate of Gettysburg University, Stuart majored in theater with a minor in biology. Her interest in theater began at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, from which she graduated in 2004; she remembers the performing arts and English as her favorite classes, with particular influences from drama teacher Demis Ashton, English teacher Betsy Gray, and history teacher Tom Stuart. Her extracurricular activities included four years of cheerleading.
After graduating from Gettysburg, Stuart returned to Princeton Junction and got a job working at the Village School’s extended day program. A lifelong area resident, Stuart’s family moved to Princeton Junction from Long Island when she was three. Her father, Jeff, works for US Bank in Manhattan, and her mother, Tina, works at the Town Center School. Her younger sisters, Caitlyn, 20, and Annie, 18, attend the University of Delaware and the University of Rhode Island.
While Stuart loves performing, her current focus involves the pursuit of graduate studies in wildlife conservation. “I hope to one day work on the front lines of an organization like the World Wildlife Fund,” she says.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is her first opportunity at performing in an Edward Albee play. “My favorite part is the dancing,” she laughs, referring cagily to a pivotal, brandy-soaked, soul-baring moment late in the play. “Every rehearsal, we discover something new. This has been an amazing cast and crew to work with.”
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Kelsey Theater, Mercer Community College, 1200 Old Trenton Road, 609-570-3333. www.kelseytheatre.net. Edward Albee classic about marriage stars Ruth Markoe of Lawrenceville, Ashley Stuart of West Windsor, Danny Siegel of Princeton, and John Shaken Kaye of Pennsylvania. Directed by Lou Stalsworth of Allentown. Through January 18. Reception with cast and crew follows performance on opening night. $14. Friday to Sunday, January 9 to 18.
